After World War II, no one doubted the outstanding international reputation that the Canadian forces enjoyed for courage and leadership.

Called the greatest little army in the world, Canadian exploits were the stuff of legend retold in war movies like The Devil’s Brigade, the Great Escape, Stalag 17 and many more. Canadian leaders behind enemy lines took the fight to the enemy’s backyard.

Then the sixties and whether deliberate or inadvertent, the last half of the 20 th century saw successive Canadian governments turn their backs on national defence. The resulting erosion to the relationship between citizens and the men and women in their military was profound.

In 2004, Breakout Educational Network reviewed the lessons they’d learned and communicated through development of the underground royal commission Report, a massive citizen’s inquiry into how Canada ’s government works. They produced 17 books and 16 hours of television in miniseries and specials. All this content was derived from top quality video research that explored Canadian political and military cultures in programs like Secrets in High Places, Days of Reckoning and Does Your Vote Count? The 5 hour series Question of Honour challenged the way Canadians see their military and it would become a platform of understanding among military decision makers and inspire an ongoing television broadcast interest from ichannel, the issues channel, a provocative contextual television station.

Assessing the experience, one observation was clear, there is a fundamental disconnection between the Canadian people and the Canadian military. Somehow the military became them not us. Awareness of the military has devolved to the point where thinking about an independent foreign policy, self defence and security, in fact having a strategic mindset is foreign to most Canadians.

Changing a culture of neglect is a big job but the 7 year project is committed to reconnecting Canadians with their military and to promoting strategic leadership education. We hope you enjoy our website.

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